Average Legal Officer Salary in United Kingdom for 2024

In this article, we will look at the average Legal Officer salary for 2024 in United Kingdom and how that compares to other countries and professions. We'll also look at interesting salary data points like median salary, 25th and 75th percentile salaries, salary amounts based on experience, bonus ranges and more!

The data in this article has been compiled using official government salary data, salary surveys, and other sources such as job postings which contain salary information.

All salary information is in the local currency, which is the British pound. To keep things simple, we are using the GBP currency code instead of the currency symbol £.

How Much Does a Legal Officer Make in United Kingdom?

A Legal Officer working in United Kingdom will typically earn around 43,500 GBP per year, and this can range from the lowest average salary of about 19,400 GBP to the highest average salary of 65,700 GBP.

Average Annual Salary
43,500 GBP
Average Monthly Salary
3,625 GBP

Lowest Annual Salary
19,400 GBP
Lowest Monthly Salary
1,616 GBP

Highest Annual Salary
65,700 GBP
Highest Monthly Salary
5,475 GBP

These are average salaries for a Legal Officer in United Kingdom and include benefits such as housing and transport. It's also possible for a Legal Officer to earn more or less than the average salaries shown above.

Legal Officer salaries will vary a lot based on your experience, location, skills, and gender. Keep reading below to research more data on each of these areas.

Distribution of Legal Officer Salaries in United Kingdom

So we've looked at the average salaries a Legal Officer will earn in United Kingdom. The next interesting data point is the distribution of salaries.

Salary ranges

We already know that a Legal Officer can earn between 19,400 GBP and 65,700 GBP on average in United Kingdom. This is known as the range in statistics.

The difference between the maximum and minimum values is a good indicator of variability in salaries, and can be used by employers to figure out how much they can expect to pay, and for employees to know how much they can earn.

Median salary

The median salary for a Legal Officer in United Kingdom is 45,600 GBP. This is the middle value in the distribution of salaries.

What this means is that approximately 50% of the population earn less than 45,600 GBP, and 50% of the population earn more than 45,600 GBP.

If you are earning more than the median salary, that's a good indicator that you are being paid well.

If you're not earning more than the median salary, your objective should be to increase your earnings to be at least as high as the median salary (which you can do by asking for a pay rise, looking for a better paying job, etc).

Percentiles

Percentiles are similar to the median salary, but instead of looking at the middle value, they look at the values in the top and bottom half of the distribution.

For the average Legal Officer salary in United Kingdom, 25% of the population are earning less than 30,800 GBP while 75% of the population earn more than 30,800 GBP.

75% of the population earn less than 62,100 GBP, and 25% of the population earn more than 62,100 GBP.

Like the median salary, the 25th and 75th percentile salaries can be used to determine which quartile you fall into so that you know whether you are being paid well enough compared to others in your profession and location.

The difference between a median and an average salary

The median and average salary are both indicators you can use to see if you are being paid fairly based on the overall population.

  • If your salary is higher than the average and the median salary, you are earning well compared to others.
  • If your salary is lower than the average and the median salary, it could indicate you are not being paid well enough.
  • If you are somewhere in between then it's tricky to determine if you are being paid well enough and you might need to research more closely.

Legal Officer Salary by Experience Level in United Kingdom

The most important factor in determining your salary after the specific profession is the number of years experience you have. It stands to reason that more years of experience will result in a higher wage.

We have researched the average legal officer salary based on years of experience to give you an idea of how the average changes once you've worked for a certain amount of time.

  • 0 - 2 Years Experience. A Legal Officer in United Kingdom that has less than two years of experience can expect to earn somewhere in the region of 23,400 GBP.
  • 2 - 5 Years Experience. With two to five years of experience the average Legal Officer salary would increase to 31,300 GBP.
  • 5 - 10 Years Experience. From five to ten years of experience as a Legal Officer, the average salary would be 43,500 GBP.
  • 10 - 15 Years Experience. Once you have more than ten years of experience the average salary reaches around 52,300 GBP.
  • 15 - 20 Years Experience. A Legal Officer with 15 to 20 years of experience can earn an average of 56,600 GBP.
  • 20+ Years Experience. For a Legal Officer with more than 20 years, the expected average salary increases to 61,400 GBP.

Average Salary by Experience Chart

0-2 Years
23,400 GBP
2-5 Years +34%
31,300 GBP
5-10 Years +48%
43,500 GBP
10-15 Years +22%
52,300 GBP
15-20 Years +9%
56,600 GBP
20+ Years +8%
61,400 GBP

Legal Officer Salary by Education Level in United Kingdom

As well as experience in a job, your education plays a big role in how much you can earn. A lot of higher paying positions require a high level of education, but how much can a degree increase your salary?

In our research we have compared the salaries of employees in the same job and career level with different levels of education to see how much more you can earn at each education level.

The salary you can earn based on your education is very specific to both your location and the career path you choose.

The data we have below is combined across all professions. To view the most accurate data possible, you can select a specific job from the list below.

Employees that have earned a certificate or diploma from a post-secondary program can expect to earn approximately 17% more than those who only completed high school level.

If you have a bachelor's degree, you can expect to earn approximately 25% more than those who only completed to a certificate or diploma level.

For professionals reaching the master's degree level, your salary would be around 30% higher than those with a bachelor's degree.

If you are able to achieve a PhD, you can expect to earn approximately 22% more than those with a master's degree for the same job role.

How Much is a Master's Degree or MBA Program?

The approximate cost of a master's degree or post-graduate program like an MBA in United Kingdom is around 29,600 to 88,700 GBP and takes two years to complete.

As you can see above, there are financial benefits from reaching master's degree level, but don't expect to see much of a salary increase until you have completed the degree.

It's common for people to pursue an MBA or other post-graduate program in order to switch to a a job that pays more. On average, you can expect to earn around 10% more when switching to a new company.

Whether you decide to pursue a master's degree depends on many factors. If you are able to afford it, the numbers suggest that the return on investment is worth it and you could recover the costs in a few years from the salary increase you would receive.

Legal Officer Salary Compared by Gender

In the modern age, we know that there should never be a pay gap between men and women. Unfortunately, in many professions, there is still a significant difference between the salaries earned by men when compared to the salary of women in the same job.

In United Kingdom, a male legal officer will earn an average of 44,500 GBP, while a female legal officer will earn around 42,400 GBP.

This means that a male legal officer earns approximately 5% more than a female legal officer for performing the same job.

Average Salary by Gender Chart in United Kingdom

Male
44,500 GBP
Female -5%
42,400 GBP

Legal Officer Average Pay Raise in United Kingdom

In many countries, an annual pay raise is often given to employees to reward their service with a salary increase.

From our research, we can see that the average pay raise for a Legal Officer in United Kingdom is around 11% every 14 months.

The national average pay raise across all professions and industries in United Kingdom is around 9% every 15 months.

In this case, we can see that the number of months between the average pay raise is higher than the typical 12 months.

To make the data more meaningful, we can calculate what the approximate annual pay raise would be using a simple formula:

Annual Increase = ( Increase Rate ÷ Months ) × 12

So for this example, it would be:

Annual Increase = ( 11 ÷ 14 ) × 12  = 9%

What this means is that a Legal Officer in United Kingdom can expect to receive an average pay raise of around 9% every 12 months.

Annual Pay Raise by Industry in United Kingdom for 2024

In the chart below, you can see the average annual pay raise percentages for each of the major industries in United Kingdom.

You will see that companies in bigger and more lucrative industries tend to have the higher annual pay raises.

Banking
3%
Energy
6%
Information Technology
9%
Healthcare
3%
Travel
6%
Construction
9%
Education
3%

Legal Officer Bonus and Incentive Rates in United Kingdom

Another part of your overall compensation in a job is how much bonus you receive. Some job roles will be more likely to pay a bonus than others and also more likely to have higher bonus rates.

Generally speaking, jobs that are more involved with direct revenue generation will receive higher bonuses based on the performance towards revenue goals.

A Legal Officer is a low bonus based job, with 35% of employees reporting at least one bonus in the last 12 months.

65% reported that they had not received any bonuses in the previous 12 months.

For the employees that did receive a bonus in the previous 12 months, the reported bonuses ranged from 0% to 4%.

Received Bonus
35%
No Bonus
65%

What are the Types of Bonus?

There are a number of difference types of bonus you can receive in a job. Including:

  • Individual performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee for general performance in the job. It's the most common type of bonus.
  • Company performance bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to a company employees to share profit with the staff.
  • Goal based bonus - This is a bonus that is awarded to an individual employee (or a team) for achieving specific goals, objectives, or milestones.
  • Holiday bonus - This type of bonus is usually paid around the holidays, often the end of the year, and is a token of appreciation for the hard work throughout the year.

Government vs Private Sector Salaries

Another commonly asked question is whether you get paid a higher salary working in the public (government) sector or the private sector.

Public sector employees in United Kingdom earn approximately 7% more than private sector employees in the same role.

Public Sector
72,700 GBP
Private Sector -7%
68,200 GBP

Salaries for Jobs Similar to a Legal Officer

In the table below, we have salary information for jobs that are similar to a Legal Officer in United Kingdom.

Job Title Category Salary
Administrative Law Judge Legal 195,500 GBP
Arbitrator Legal 91,700 GBP
Associate Attorney Legal 90,600 GBP
Attorney Legal 140,200 GBP
Bailiff Legal 43,500 GBP
Barrister Legal 39,500 GBP
Candidate Attorney Legal 83,400 GBP
Conciliator Legal 68,900 GBP
Contracts Associate Legal 45,800 GBP
Contracts Manager Legal 78,700 GBP
Contracts Negotiator Legal 63,500 GBP
Contracts Specialist Legal 45,300 GBP
Conveyancing Secretary Legal 36,500 GBP
Corporate Counsel Legal 98,700 GBP
Counsel Legal 107,300 GBP
Court Clerk Legal 30,200 GBP
Court Judicial Assistant Legal 52,800 GBP
Court Liaison Specialist Legal 65,200 GBP
Court Reporter Legal 54,500 GBP
Court Representative Legal 39,800 GBP
Crown Prosecution Service Lawyer Legal 192,600 GBP
General Counsel Legal 172,200 GBP
Immigration Executive Legal 94,300 GBP
In House Counsel Legal 105,200 GBP
Intellectual Property Specialist Legal 72,800 GBP
Judge Advocate Legal 146,900 GBP
Law Clerk Legal 32,900 GBP
Lawyer Legal 148,300 GBP
Legal Administrative Assistant Legal 39,500 GBP
Legal Advisor Legal 86,400 GBP
Legal Assistant Legal 39,800 GBP
Legal Associate Legal 64,400 GBP
Legal Consultant Legal 83,400 GBP
Legal Consultant Legal 88,300 GBP
Legal Counsel Legal 97,400 GBP
Legal Editor Legal 69,700 GBP
Legal Executive Legal 127,600 GBP
Legal Executive Secretary Legal 36,500 GBP
Legal IP Officer Legal 34,400 GBP
Legal Secretary Legal 38,000 GBP
Legal Services Director Legal 156,200 GBP
Legal Services Manager Legal 153,700 GBP
Legal Support Worker Legal 27,300 GBP
Legislative Liaison Legal 70,100 GBP
Litigation Attorney Legal 169,700 GBP
Litigation Paralegal Legal 91,000 GBP
Magistrate Judge Legal 206,300 GBP
Paralegal Legal 50,600 GBP
Patent Attorney Legal 102,700 GBP
Staff Attorney Legal 109,000 GBP

Salary Comparison by City

If you want to compare salaries with different cities in United Kingdom, you can use the links below to explore the data for each specific city we have researched.

City Average Salary
Aberdeen 44,800 GBP
Abingdon 40,900 GBP
Armagh 40,300 GBP
Bangor 36,200 GBP
Belfast 48,600 GBP
Birmingham 49,200 GBP
Bradford 47,400 GBP
Brighton 45,700 GBP
Bristol 49,100 GBP
Cambridge 41,900 GBP
Canterbury 41,300 GBP
Cardiff 48,500 GBP
Chester 39,600 GBP
Coventry 45,600 GBP
Derby 44,900 GBP
Derry 38,700 GBP
Dundee 45,200 GBP
Durham 38,000 GBP
Edinburgh 46,400 GBP
Exeter 45,000 GBP
Glasgow 50,800 GBP
Gloucester 40,200 GBP
Hartlepool 40,300 GBP
Inverness 40,200 GBP
Kingston upon Hull 46,300 GBP
Kirkwall 36,400 GBP
Leeds 49,700 GBP
Leicester 45,200 GBP
Lincoln 42,300 GBP
Lisburn 41,100 GBP
Liverpool 49,300 GBP
London 49,300 GBP
Manchester 51,500 GBP
Newcastle 45,700 GBP
Newport 40,300 GBP
Newry 44,800 GBP
Norwich 45,100 GBP
Nottingham 46,200 GBP
Oxford 45,000 GBP
Peterborough 40,600 GBP
Plymouth 46,300 GBP
Poole 44,500 GBP
Portsmouth 45,000 GBP
Ripon 38,700 GBP
Salisbury 37,900 GBP
Sheffield 50,800 GBP
Somerset 45,400 GBP
Southampton 44,800 GBP
St Davids 39,100 GBP
Stirling 43,500 GBP
Stromness 37,300 GBP
Strontian 36,900 GBP
Swansea 44,800 GBP
Truro 39,600 GBP
Wakefield 38,000 GBP
Wells 36,700 GBP
Winchester 40,700 GBP
Wolverhampton 45,000 GBP
York 45,700 GBP

Salary Comparison by State

The table below includes links to the average salary for each state in United Kingdom.

City Average Salary
England 83,800 GBP
Northern Ireland 38,000 GBP
Scotland 58,400 GBP
Wales 39,000 GBP

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